Consistory

CONSISTORY

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Consistory

CONSISTORY

32° Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret31° Knight Aspirant30° Grand Inspector29° Knight of Saint Andrew28° Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept27° Knight of Jerusalem26° Friend and Brother Eternal25° Master of Achievement24° Brother of the Forest23° Knight of Valor22°Prince of Libanus21° Patriarch Noachite20° Master ad Vitam19° Brother of the Trail

A Consistory is a subordinate body of Scottish Rite Freemasons that have come together under the auspecies of a Supreme Council of Thirty-Third degree Freemasons. Each Consistory enables a Third degree Freemason (within a Symbolic Lodge) to gain more information about the degrees he then holds. The Scottish Rite by no means states that it is greater than the Symbolic Lodge simply because its degree structure has higher numbers. The Scottish Rite, however, considers itself as an extension of the third degree of Freemasonry.

There are several subordinate bodies that a Consistory governs. These subordinate bodies are designed to allow Scottish Rite Freemasons to focus on specific lessons that the Scottish Rite condensed into four subgroups.

The history of Consistories extend far beyond that of Scottish Rite usage. The term "Consistory" is Latin for consistorium or assembly place. The Consistory originated in Rome having two primary usages at the time. The first is in government, where the Consistory or emperor's privy council, consisted of the highest Roman magistrates or government officials in the empire.

Throughout the world, Scottish Rite Supreme Councils form Consistories within their many jurisdictions, thus gathering Scottish Rite Freemasons together for the Great Works. These Great Works performed by Scottish Rite Consistories range from the well-known Scottish Rite Hospital to local charitable acts within a town or community.

Chapter of Rose Croix

THE CHAPTER OF ROSE CROIX

Chapter of Rose Croix

THE CHAPTER OF ROSE CROIX

18° Knight of the Rose Croix de Heredom17° Knight of the East and West

In 1797, a Chapter of Rose Croix was formed in New York City by a group of Frenchmen with J. J. J. Gourgas as Secretary. This was the first Rose Croix Chapter established in North America. In 1813 this group of Brothers was recognized as Scottish Rite Masons by Charleston Supreme Council. In the same year the Supreme Council for Northern Masonic Jurisdiction was formed from the Scottish Rite Bodies active in New York. Daniel D. Tompkins was named the First Sovereign Grand Commander and J.J.J. Gourgas was Grand Secretary.

Meanwhile Joseph Cerneau a member of Washington Lodge No. 21, with another group of Masons, formed a rival Chapter of Rose Croix in 1806, and a Grand Consistory in 1807. The regularity of this group was denied by the Mother Supreme Council of the A.A.S.R. in Charleston until 1867, when the two rival Supreme Councils, both located in New York City, merged to form what is now the Supreme Council for Northern Masonic Jurisdiction A.A.S.R. and moved their seat to Boston. In the following years, various Scottish Rite Bodies active in New York City were consolidating and uniting. Accordingly the Chapters of Rose Croix in New York City united to form our present Rose Croix Chapter on February 28th, 1880, when the "Templar " Chapter and the "Zeal and Constancy" Chapter merged. The Charter issued by the Supreme Council in 1880 shows a founding date of October 30th, 1856, which is the official founding date of our Chapter Rose Croix.

From 1888 until 1901, the meetings of the Rose Croix Chapter were held in the Scottish Rite Temple on East 29th Street, which was originally built as a Presbyterian church, but in 1888 was purchased by the New York City Scottish Rite Bodies. In 1901 their meetings returned to the Masonic Hall on 23rd Street. In 1922 the Valley of New York City A.A.S.R. purchased the Manhattan Opera house on West 34th Street, and made it into a Scottish Rite Temple. During the years of the Depression the Valley lost this building and moved back to the Masonic building on 23rd Street.

Many prominent New York Masons were members and Officers of our Rose Croix Chapter. In 1957-58 the Most Wise Master was Wendell K. Walker.

The Chapter of Rose Croix meets once a month, on the first Tuesday, either within the Four Bodies meeting of the Valley of New York, or as a host, and has Reunions once a year, at which the 17th and 18th Degrees are conferred upon candidates in full form and with the dramas.

Every year on Thursday before Easter (the Thursday before Maundy Thursday) at 8:00pm, the Chapter of Rose Croix performs a Solemn Ceremonial "Feast of the Paschal Lamb," which is open to the public. At this occasion, we recollect the moral values taught to us by the Great Teacher of Nazareth, and perpetuated in the Teachings of the Rose Croix Degrees. This is also a Ceremony of Remembrance for Departed Brothers who have gone this way before us.

The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Degrees, known as the Philosophical and Doctrinal Degrees of the Scottish Rite, are conferred in a Chapter of Rose Croix. They open a new development of Masonic teaching and are a distinct departure and advance from the symbolism and teaching of the Symbolic Lodge and of the preceding Scottish Rite Degrees. These deal with the First Temple and its supporting columns and the attempt to restore and maintain the old worship in a Second Temple reared upon the ruins of the first. Neither endured.

The Seventeenth Degree is designated Knight of the East and West and is presented as the first degree in a Chapter of Rose Croix. The degree centers around the wandering neophyte an earnest seeker for Truth and is an indispensable prelude to the Eighteenth Degree. It inspires the hope that the Day of Truth will dawn at last, that the knowledge and worship of the One Living and True God shall spread from East to West, and that one Spiritual Brotherhood shall extend across the world.

The Eighteenth Degree is designated - Knight of the Rose Croix and is presented as the second and last degree in a Chapter of Rose Croix. Man had to have a new Temple, a new Law, a new Word. The degree sets forth a law of the heart, a law of warm and intimate human virtues, a law which the simplest and humblest may practice. It symbolizes a perfect life that every man can understand and take for the guide, inspiration, and model of his own.

The Rose Croix degrees are the spiritual center and among the most important in the whole body of Freemasonry.

Council of Princes

COUNCIL OF PRINCES OF JERUSALEM

Council of Princes

COUNCIL OF PRINCES OF JERUSALEM

16° Prince of Jerusalem15° Knight of the East, or Knight of the Sword

The Council of Princes of Jerusalem confers the 15° and 16° which teach lessons using the settings based on the Babylonian captivity of the Jews and the building of the second Temple.

In the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the U.S.A, Council of Princes of Jerusalem stands alone as the second of the four bodies, which comprise a complete Scottish Rite Valley. In the Southern Jurisdiction, however, the 15° and 16° degrees are part of the Rose Croix Chapter which is the second of the 4 Southern Jurisdiction bodies.

The Fifteenth and Sixteenth Degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry are known as "Knight of the East or Sword" and "Prince of Jerusalem." These degrees sometimes referred to as the historical degrees, constitute an allegorical narrative presenting the story of a captive people who "wept beside the rivers of Babylon." When liberated they were consecrated to the task of building the Second Temple or rather of rebuilding the original temple of Solomon, which had been destroyed by marauding Assyrians.

In the characters of Daniel, Joshua, Zerubbabel and his companions, the earlier virtues of patience, courage, and fortitude are contrasted with the disillusionment and loss of zeal that developed as the rebuilding of the temple proceeded. The motif of this spiritual struggle is portrayed against a tapestry, representing a scene of oriental and pagan splendor in the court of one of the most imposing empires of history. This was the Achaemenian dynasty at the height of its power. The ancient authority of Assyria and Babylon, of Syria and Sidonia and of all the fabulous empires of the East had been overthrown and the Persians ruled supreme.

Contrasted with the hauteur of these imperious monarchs is the humility of the little group of those born in bondage pleading for the redress of an ancient wrong. The lessons of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Degrees are from these elements of the historical drama which transpired during the reigns of the Great Kings, Cyrus and Darius.

In 1767 Bro. Henry Francken had been deputized by Bro. Stephen Morin to organize a Lodge of Perfection in Albany, NY. This was the forerunner of what was to become the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in the United States. During the Colonial Period, other deputies appointed by Morin, organized Masonic groups which conferred the advanced degrees at other important points along the Atlantic seaboard.

The Lodge of Perfection is one of four coordinate divisions that exist in Scottish Rite. The presiding officer is called the Thrice Potent Master. The degrees that are performed are known as the Ineffable Degrees and are composed of eleven lessons or "degrees" (4° - 14°). In these eleven lessons, the candidate will observe many references, scenes and characters which recall and amplify the three Symbolic degrees.

In formal ritual and in drama, ten of these degrees, based upon legends of the Solomonic era, elaborate upon the teachings of Symbolic Freemasonry and apply them to practical situations that are faced in everyday life. The Fourteenth degree summarizes what has been taught and is a moral and philosophical climax.

Important practical lessons are taught in the eleven Ineffable Degrees - Secrecy and Silence in all confidential relationships; Respect for a Brother's memory, The duty of healing distensions; Justice and Mercy in judging others; Fair dealing in business by Management and Labor; The peril of excessive zeal even in a good cause; The honest collection of taxes based upon a just assessment; The mastery of difficulties and dangers in our progress toward Perfection; The honor of Freemasonry is in the keeping of those who seek Perfection in character and who reverence the Ineffable Name of God.

The Lodge of Perfection is not only the beginning of your journey, it is here that the spirit of the Valley is embedded into its members. The brotherly love and fraternal spirit is felt here by all who participate. Many have heard during their Masonic meetings the phrase that has come to symbolize pride, success, and quality of our work: L.O.P. The phrase or motto that is chanted during rehearsals, before and after dramas is used to signify that our works are good.